The Rose and the Nightingale
by LilPrincessKat
Summary: This is a story I am writing for my niece. Need constructive criticism.
1. Prologue

Once upon a time there was a magnificent kingdom of roses.

The king and queen's daughter Cassandra was getting ready for the ball

when the messenger Kyle busted in. "The kingdom is under attack!", he shouted.

The kingdom's army fought their hardest against them but lost. As the evil army

crept closer, the king and queen pulled their daughter into the Dragon's Keep

and got their wizard to freeze her in a block of ice. When the evil army finally

left, all were dead except the princess, hidden away from all of society. Many

have tried to find this girl of beauty but all have failed. Soon the princess and

her kingdom faded into legend.


	2. Chapter 1: Legend of the Princess

It has been 200 years since that day the kingdom faded into legend.

Prince Will was reading the story over again, wondering if the legends

were true. He ran his hand over the bulky back cover when he spotted

a small golden speck. "This is very peculiar", he said as he grabbed a

magnifying glass. He looked more closely to see it was a small golden

rose on some sort of button. He pressed it lightly and a scroll fell out

of the back cover. He jumped back suddenly at the surprise. "What the

heck is that!", he exclaimed as he picked it up and unfurled it. "A map?

TO THE LEGENDARY KINGDOM!", he said with glee. "But I'm not

allowed to leave the kingdom….unless I pretend to be a knight!"

And with that he headed for the armory.


	3. Chapter 2: The Secret Prince

Prince Will entered the armory and began to search. He came across a

suit of armor that would protect both his identity and his body and put

it on. He then grabbed a sword and headed for the stables. He got his

trusty steed Mule and spoke to him in a lovely Scottish accent. "Time

to go on the adventure of our lives," he said as he mounted his horse

and began to ride out of his kingdom. Suddenly, he stopped in front of

a young teen shooting arrows at a tree. "I could use a good shot like

you on my journey, what is your name young lad?", he said with intrigue.

"Derpy!" The boy exclaimed as his eyes went off in different directions.

"Uhm OK then….hop on," Said Prince Will, pulling the boy onto

his steed and riding off again.

Meanwhile in the Dragon's Keep, the ice started to crack…..


	4. Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

As we last left our duo they had just left the kingdom to find the

mysterious fallen Kingdom of Roses. Suddenly a puff of smoke

surrounded the duo and a wizard appeared on the horse behind them.

"I am the great and powerful BRONDI!", He exclaimed and then

coughed up a sprite. "Damn sprites…." , he muttered. "Well since

your already on the horse I guess you can come along for the journey,"

Prince Will said casually as he dug his heels into the side of his horse,

it starting to gallop off again. "You can read the map!", Derpy exclaimed

and handed the scroll to the wizard.

"Well this is interesting….we seem to be going the right way but the path is very treacherous….so you better be prepared," Brondi the wizard said nervously.

"We don't need luck…..we have the ancestral blade of the Nightingale royal family

with us…" The prince said casually.

"DID YOU STEAL IT?" Derpy shouted, almost startling the horse.

"No, I own the blade…..I'm the prince…..now we will speak no more of this until our adventure is completed….", the prince said in a threatening tone.

Meanwhile in the Dragon's Keep the ice was starting to melt.

"Looks like someone has learned of the prophecy," The dragon said wearily and sighed, "Soon I will have my meal…."


	5. Chapter 4: The Forest of Madness

We last left our heroes as they left the kingdom and started their journey.

Suddenly, dark clouds started to roll in as they reached a dark and mysterious

forest.

"Do you guys hear that?" The Prince said, his voice quivering.

"Nope

all I hear are the birdies!" The archer said, humming.

"I hear a great and powerful being…..he beckons to me…." The wizard said

before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The prince clutched at his head and the horse began to buck.

"THE SCREAMS! MAKE THEN STOP!" The prince yelled, falling off his horse which ran away at full gallop, knocking the archer off.

A black robed figure slowly came out of the trees.

"Why are in my forest. THE MADNESS FOREST OF DAH-VIID!", He

exclaimed. With one swift movement the archer nocked his arrow and drew

his bow. He released it and with dead accuracy, landing it right in the

robed figure's head, killing him instantly. The Prince got up, looking

around. "The voices….they stopped", The prince said and

looked at the dead figure. "Ah, a druid….well lets press on!"

Meanwhile in the castle, the dragon was waiting when a cloaked figure

came in.

"You know what you must do", The dragon said in a french accent.

"Yes….master", The cloaked figure said and casting a

spell on the princess, making her unable to wake up after she thaws

until the prophesy is complete, then disappeared.

Back in the forest, The wizard reappeared, noticing the horse was gone. He raised his wand. "WIZARDUSLIZARDUS!" And with that a riding lizard appeared.

The archer sniffed the wizard and commented on how dusty he smelt. The prince ignored it and pulled them onto the wizard lizard, riding out of the forest.


	6. Chapter 5: The Swamp of Terrible Odors

As we last left our heroes they were riding the wizard lizard. A

terrible Odor soon permeated the air. The Prince and archer

pinched their noses in disgust. "GROSS! YOU FARTED, BRONDI!",

They yelled in unison. "Nope, it's the swamp of terrible odors.", he

said calmly, his eyes darting to the shadows. The prince and archer

moaned and groaned as they trekked through the swamp. "THAT'S IT!"

He yelled pulling out nose plugs and stuck them up their noses. "Thanks",

the prince and archer said in unison. When they got out of the swamp they immediately ditched their nose plugs and headed for the next challenge.

Meanwhile in the Dragon's Keep, the princess lay still, seemingly still

frozen in her endless slumber as all of the kingdom seemingly sleeps

for the princess to awaken…..

At the kingdom's entrance, ghostly figures of different ages and genders were gathered around.

"I hear that a prince is coming to awaken our fair maiden", Genevieve said, clutching a book.

"A prince for our princess? OH GOODIE!", Alexis jumped up and down and cried out in joy.

"It is only a matter of time until they arrive," Said Sir Richard calmly.

"T'is only a matter of time, yes," said Morgana, " but they will need

to enchant the sword to fulfill the prophesy."

"True…", Came a voice in a gentle tone…,"True….but we must get ready for their arrival, to

your rooms everyone!"


	7. Chapter 6: Eagle's Pass

"We have been riding for daaaaaaaaaaaaaays", the archer complained.

"We are almost there…..Eagle's pass is the last challenge.", The

wizard said. When they reached Eagle's Pass, they heard evil laughter

from a ridge. "You'll never get out alive!", a young man of only 17

yelled as he began to push rocks down the mountains. The prince

easily used the wizard lizard to maneuver quickly past and the

wizard cast a spell to make him freeze completely solid until they

passed. They came across a traveler that looked wounded.

"Oh if it isn't the idiot Will", the traveler said snobbily.

"He may be Jacob, the jerk from my youth, but can you heal him?", the prince asked the wizard.

"I'm no cleric but I can try", the wizard commented, pointing his wand at the traveler. "KABLAMMO!"

And with that, the traveler exploded into billions of chunks. The trio got

out of there as fast as possible and made it through Eagle's pass.

Meanwhile in the castle, the spirit of the princess was sitting on the

altar where her sleeping body was laid out.

"When will my prince come for me..." She said with a gentle and

melodic tone to her voice.


	8. Chapter 7: The Kingdom of Roses

Our mighty heroes have finally made it to the kingdom. The walls are

crumbling and the roses have all withered from no care, vines stretch

across the walls and the roar of a dragon can be heard from down below.

The moat has dried up and skeletons of alligators remain. Even the

drawbridge has rotted away. The prince dismounted the lizard and

pulled his party into the castle where a specter knight greeted them

with a bow, his armor rusted in his ghost form. "You must be here

to save our fair maiden Cassandra. I am Sir Richard of the Bloody Rose.",

he said with a smile. "We are!" The three heroes said in unison. "well

the key to the dragon's lair may be in the room of the keeper of the keys,"

the knight said kindly, "I can take you there if you so desire." And with

that, he climbed the crumbling stairs, our faithful party following. The

knight showed them to a door with a key on it and disappeared, the

door creaking open.

They entered the room to see a ghostly girl of only 7 hugging her

teddy bear and crying. She looked up at the party and a smile

spread on her face as she ran at the prince to try to hug him but

went straight through, sending a shiver through the prince's spine.

She then went back to her spot. "Sorry mister I'm Alexis, I heard

you were going to save my sister, Cassandra…I am not really

a princess since my daddy isn't the king but sister Cassandra makes

me feel like one. What do you need to help with your quest?",

she asked with a giggle. "We need the key to the dragon's keep,"

the prince asked kindly. "I broke that into pieces and threw

it into the rose room years ago. You can go and try to find it!",

she said before leading them to a room with a rose on it and

disappearing. The archer, being the DERP he is, ran right in

and got the pieces. He threw the key to the prince and when

the archer tried to leave, the vines of the withered roses came

to life and ripped him to pieces. There was blood everywhere

and all that was left was the archer's spirit. "oops", he said as

he floated out. The little girl reappeared. "Wow, that looks

awesome!" and disappeared again. The heroes ran towards a room with a potion on the door and it opened with a violent swing.

A woman clad in an alchemist's robe turned around, her skin

completely see-though as the others. "I have been waiting for

you. I am Morgana of the Rose, I used to be the alchemist of

this kingdom", She said as she bowed and pulled out a bag of

golden powder. "But I cannot help help you." The prince unsheathed his

sword and grabbed the powder from the alchemist and sprinkled it on his sword, it glowing

a bright white. The Prince sheathed his sword again and the alchemist disappeared with a smile.

It was finally time to fight the dragon when a scroll rolled to his

feet. He picked it up to find out it was a map to get to the Dragon's

Keep….


	9. Chapter 8: Tomb of the Sleeping Kingdom

The duo and spirit archer were racing down the stairs to the library.

The door creaked open slowly and 5 books shot out, thwacking the

wizard and knocking him over. A young girl of only 16 and holding

books leather-bound and dusty floated around the room, putting them

back. "Excuse me miss," The prince asked politely, "can you help us?"

The girl looked at him, tears in her eyes. "NO!"

She then disappeared, leaving the same book that started this whole journey on the floor. The prince looked around the library until he found a bookshelf with an empty space and put the book in its proper place and turned around as the bookcase swung in. The wizard had vanished. He slowly descended the stairs to a bunch of bodies asleep on their own altars. Their spirits

were watching him, Even the archer was there, his body asleep and

repaired. "I will save you all!", he proclaimed and turned around to

see an iron door with a lock on it. He pulled out the key and stuck it in

the lock, When he opened the door, something pulled him in and

the door slammed behind him….


	10. Chapter 9: Draco Servine

Prince William looked around the Dragon's Keep. There were candles lit everywhere and on the altar lay the princess, fast asleep. He tried to run to her but was flung away by a large scaly tail.

"Defeat me in battle and you may set free Princess Cassandra.", said the dragon.

"I will defeat you foul beast!", The prince yelled.

"Oh will you? IMMOBLIUS!", Came from the wizard, his eyes black as coal.

The prince unsheated his sword and blocked it, sending back at the wizard who was now frozen.

"HAH!", He exclaimed,"You can never catch a Nightingale off guard!"

"Maybe but you will die in this place," said the dragon, rising from behind the altar and breathing fire onto the hero. He tried to block it with his shield, but it was thrown across the room from the sheer heat. The prince charged towards the dragon, swinging his hardest. The dragon swung a clawed, scaly hand at him, tearing through his chest plate and leaving a big gash thet bled.

"I will not give up, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!", The prince shounted running again and again at the dragon, each time being knocked back and losing more of his armor. The dragon finally lunged at him to land one giant bite into his chest. Seeing his chance, he plunged the sword into the roof of the dragon's mouth. The dragon's large body twitched a few times before falling to the ground with a thud.

The prince rushed over the the princess on the altar as he sheathed his sword. The beautiful princess's eyes fluttered open as her spirit slowly laid back down into her body.

'Th-thank you", she said weakly in an angelic tone. The prince then picked he up and carried her out of the dragon's keep where the entire kingdom cheered with joy. They all entered their bodies once more and the little Alexis ran over and hugged her big sister. Sir Richard smiled, his armor looking almost prestine. Morgana glared slightly, being a bit jealous as she was and Genevieve wrote in the book that started the journey, it magically adding the picture of them exiting the dragon's keep. The kingdom even seemed to come back to life. The walls restored, the ivy disappearing and beautiful roses bloomed once more. The alligators even came back from the skeletons of what they were. The princess smiled at the prince as they climbed the stairs to the library and then walked outside. A gentle breeze blew through the prince's hair and his deep blue eyes and wounded chest seemed to sparkle in the light. The princess got the kingdom's apothecary to dress the wounds then she turned back to the prince. "As a reward for saving me and my entire kingdom, I will knight your crew and give you the gift only a princess could give to a prince." She pulled the wizard and archer aside and proceeded to make them Derpy of the flaming arrow and Brondi of the Seven Wands. She then ran into the prince's arms and kissed him right on the lips.


End file.
